Productivity

I like to be super busy.  I was involved with everything under the sun while in college (and high school.... and junior high...) so it's really hard for me to currently be living with my parents in the suburbs while I interview for jobs.  Instead of having a plethora of activities Sharpied (yes, it's a verb) into my color-coded planner, every day is different and depends on what Real HouseMom has in mind for the day.

I'll be honest, it's a struggle to stay focused on the job hunt when there's so much that needs work around the house, and now I'm home with RHM full-time.  Yesterday and Wednesday were spent in the basement, which is literally so scary I'm not going to post any photos.  We've lived in our house almost 20 years, and have an unfinished basement that is home to all the toys, books, games, clothes, artwork, decorations, etc. that accumulate over the decades.  So in addition to trying to clean everything and split it into four categories (keep, donate, sell, trash), we're also making plans for the ceiling, walls, floors and dividing the entirely open space into individual rooms.  Phew!

On top of that, RHM and I are planning to have the wallpaper (eww, yes, wallpaper) stripped from the dining room and guest bathroom so we can totally redo those rooms.  My big procrastination at the moment has been spending hours on the House Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Living and Country Living websites to get ideas for paint, decor and more.

And the weather here in Chicagoland has been cool and rainy throughout the week, so all I've wanted to do is curl up with a good book or catch all the fun summer shows on TV.  I usually just drag my MacBook down to the family room (biggest TV!) and work from there.

How do you manage to get big projects done in addition to the everyday work?

Have a great weekend =)

-Jules

Absolutely Adorable: ShopGlitzyGlam.com!

Hi, My name is Jules and I can't resist anything personalized or monogrammed.  (Hi Jules.)

Seriously, if they had rehab for people who love their name/initials on their stuff, I should be the first person to sign up.  Instead, I keep finding websites and shops that cater to my obsession.

The newest one I found is ShopGlitzyGlam, a website run by two sisters who love to blog about beauty and fashion on their self-titled blog, Elle & Blair.  [Warning: addiction may occur!]

On ShopGlitzyGlam, you can totally customize everything from makeup bags to spa items to lunch bags and more!  Of course they also have some things that aren't 100% custom, but even those give you several options to choose from- including Lilly stuff and jewelry.

And my favorite little detail about their stuff?  Most of it comes with ribbon =)

Speaking of favorite, here are the three things I want most from their shop!

I love this color combo!  It's the light pink waffle weave makeup case (perfect for throwing in your purse) with the turquoise polka dot ribbon and turquoise personalization, and as much as I love O-M-G-double-H-K-P, I'd probably still choose Jules =)

I also love these headbands.  I need headbands when I wash my face before bed, and I think the hot pink headband with a bright orange J on it would make me extra motivated to stick to my routine!

Another love of mine: wine!  Lucky for me, Boyfie's a fan, too, though I'm not sure he would want one of these-- but I certainly do!  I think sky blue and yellow would be perfect =)

So those are just a few examples of the absolutely adorable products on the ShopGlitzyGlam website.  Once I find a new job (fingers crossed!) I'll probably end up spending half my first paycheck on the stuff above!

Have a great Thursday =)

-Jules

59

That's how many children I helped feed for a whole year.  Real Housemom and I spent a couple hours this afternoon (yesterday?) volunteering for an organization called Feed My Starving Children, or FMSC.

 We participated in what's called a Mobile Pack, where a church hosts an event to put together food bags (known as MannaPack Rice, info here) to box up and send to countries throughout Central & South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia who are in severe need of nutritional assistance.  It was really great to be a part of something like this, a volunteer organization working to end hunger.  I loved having the chance to pack some food, and I'm thinking it would be a good use of my time to do additional volunteer work while I'm job hunting =)

When the Mobile Pack was over, Real Housemom and I had some errands to run.  See, I'm going to Indiana again (you'll learn this is a semi-regular occurrence), this time for the wedding of a friend who worked with Boyfie and me at Applebee's in college.  I've already got my dress-- Lilly, of course!-- but I was in dire need of shoes and a coordinating dress shirt & tie for Boyfie.  I found him a shirt that's just about the exact shade of green on part of my dress (it's a patchwork) and two ties to choose from, one pink and one green.  Of course the green striped tie would  not be worn with the green shirt for this, but that's neither here nor there.

After a quick dash off to the bank, Real Housemom and I raided stopped at DSW, aka Heaven.  Where I proceeded to find not only shoes for the wedding, but also shoes for basically every other occasion in my life.  Note: I hadn't bought a new pair of shoes in almost a year, so this trip was more like an annual pilgrimage.  No joke, scroll down if you don't believe me!!

Wedges from Guess

 First things first I found the shoes that were basically what I had in mind for the wedding.  The ceremony is outdoors and the reception is indoors, so I figured a wedge would be a good compromise for both events!

Sandals from Teva

I enjoy hiking, kayaking, etc. so there was no way I could pass up these Tevas.  They were on the clearance racks AND had an extra 30% off - and these things last forever so I'm looking at it as an lifestyle or hobby investment =)

Rainboots from Sperry Topsider

And le piece de resistance - my new Sperry rainboots.  Having had to walk a mile to and from work every day, my feet kept getting destroyed whenever it rained.  No joke, I'm talking horrible blisters and even some bleeding!!  These babies, however, feel more like slippers.  They're so cute and so comfy, I can't wait for the next time it rains =)

Once we left DSW, we popped into Ulta to see if I could use that presh little $3.50 off coupon they send in the mail all the time.  Well by the time we got there, we were both tired and I had just spent practically my life's savings on shoes so we didn't stay for long.  I just couldn't focus on all the makeup products, so I'll probably be going back tomorrow or Saturday.  Our last stop for the day/night was Le Target to pick up a couple last-minute groceries, which meant Real Housemom and I didn't eat dinner till about 10:00!  Which is why it's so late now.... Ok, time for bed, Boyfie's waiting for me to call and say goodnight!

Have a great Friday =)

-Jules

Summer/Fall Movies: 2 down, 1 million to go!

I'll be honest, I had no real interest in seeing the newest Pirates of the Caribbean-- since I knew Orlando Bloom & Keira Knightley would be MIA-- but we got some free passes to see it, so of course we went.  I still like the first one the best but 'On Stranger Tides' is still a fun movie!  I went with two people who haven't actually watched the Pirates movies, aside from bits and pieces of the first one, so I can tell you first hand that you don't have to have seen the first three in order to understand the fourth, though it makes a huge difference when you're familiar with the characters and recognize several of the references.

The other movie I saw recently was X-Men First Class.  Now, the only X-Men movie I'd seen before this was the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, and I've never read the comic books, so I'm not hugely familiar with the characters.  But I thought this was awesome!  Not sure how you'll feel if you did read all the comic books or watch the cartoon growing up, so sorry I can't help you there.  However if you like the superhero genre or are into movies with a little sci fi and some action, then I can definitely recommend you go see this!  It was totally worth my $10 =)

Upcoming movies I can't wait to see: Hangover 2 (yeah, yeah), Super 8, Green Lantern, Bad Teacher, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Cars 2, Transformers 3, Horrible Bosses, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS part 2 (definitely seeing this at midnight!!!), Captain America, The Change Up, The Help, Conan the Barbarian, The Three Musketeers, Winnie the Pooh (I've always liked them!), Immortals, Puss in Boots, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

And those are just the ones I know of!  So basically if it's coming out and it's not a scary movie, I'll probably go see it =)

Movies I still need to check out: The King's Speech, The Black Swan, Water for Elephants, Fast Five

Any other suggestions?

Have a great Thursday =)

-Jules